The Search Begins

As we have been in Tennessee we have been having a great time searching the area just waiting to be inspired, I guess. We have spent many hours in the car and looking around neat old Tennessee towns. There is one town that is located only about 15-20 minutes from Johnson City that has kind of captured our hearts a little. Its a small town called Jonesborough. The old town has character and history and definitely has the southern hospitality that you always hear about. On Friday nights they shut down main street completely and have music concerts. Michael, Emma and I went twice during our stay here and we all loved it! They have a complete variety of music, and its not just old time country bluegrass either, which I'm not a fan of. Emma has been having a ball going to these concerts and trying hard to become a member of the bands! :) She has no fear and will approach the band and start dancing to the music. We have already made friends in Jonesborough, largely due to Emma. It's amazing how many friends you obtain when you have children!

We also had a chance to run down to Asheville, NC for a few days, which is only an hour or so away from Johnson City and look around there. During that trip we had a crazy adventure getting lost in the mountains on a back road somewhere looking for a town that didn't seem to exist, but someone had recommended it to us. There were even signs on the interstate, and our GPS was telling us it was there, but my goodness it just wasn't there!!!! We felt like we were in the twilight zone or in Deliverance country! :) After hours of being lost and some very tense moments in the car after the fun of the chase had left us, we decided to leave it alone and just try to get back to JC. We came to find out that this "town" that someone had told us about was a gated community on the top of  the mountain and only homeowners could enter. They pretty much have their own town in this gated community where nobody else was allowed to enter. WIERD!!!! Not for us thanks!

Fun In TN

While we were in Gatlinburg we got to enjoy the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Aquariam, which is amazing. Emma loved every minute there....she especially loved the giant fish tank with lots of colorful fish. Here are a bunch of pics that we took while we were there.

Emma's favorite fish tank! :)

This is a little blurry but so cool!

Michael and Emma on the moving sidewalk in the shark tank. (That's why its so blurry!) :(

The gorgeous view outside our window at the hotel in Gatlinburg.

We have been so blessed so far on our trip. God has been showing Michael and I so many things about ourselves and about who He wants us to be as individuals, as a couple, and as a family.

Hitting The Open Road

Who would have thought that moving for only three months would required so much planning?! In the midst of that planning we now realize we forgot some good-byes. We hope our efforts here make up for it.
We arrived in Johnson City August 1st at Leah's mom and dad's house. We were greeted by Leah's brother, 90 degree heat and a broken air conditioner. As you can imagine life for me, Leah, was a bit rough dealing with TWO cranky kids in the heat! The people couldn't come to fix it for a WEEK! So we ran off to Gatlinburg for a few days where we enjoyed the cool A/C and swimming pool of the Doubletree Inn. We roamed the streets and enjoyed each other's company. Picture's are to follow of our mini vacation.

Take the Journey With Us

As you know now Michael, Emma and I are embarking on a new journey in our lives. We, with Gods leading, will be traveling in certain parts of the U.S. for the next three months. We anticipate exciting adventures, challenging hurdles, and growth that will last a lifetime. Come on the journey with us and share in the things God has planned for us in this next chapter of our lives. We anticipate that this will not be a dull time! :) We look forward to sharing it all with you all as we go along.